Mothlight: Druid of the Grove
by Bela Nixie
Summary: Aellea Mothlight is a Darkshore druid. She is beginning to take students of her own, while coping with her own loss and trauma. Affairs in the Eastern Kingdoms are calling her to Stormwind, and it is uncertain when she will return to Kalimdor. Exploration of druidism in Warcraft lore.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Settling herself against the base of a tree, in a bed of moss glistening with dew, Aellea Mothlight began to write. Her embroidered leather journal was small and light, crafted from a kind soul in town, and she made use of every thick, beige page. This journal in particular was reserved for poetry. Its fragile daintiness assisted Aellea in not growing too serious or gloomy in her expression. It wasn't much larger than her hand.

_Again I hear the murmur of these autumn waters,_ she wrote, _rushing in from the Cliffside. _She read the two lines again. That was all she could manage, for today at least. The rains had started falling heavily over the last few weeks, perfectly in tune with the ocean's increase in strength. The clouds hung low today, ready to release again.

What a home for a Druidess. There was a peace that came with the duality of Darkshore. The serene veil of the dense forest could be quietly lifted, and suddenly the coastline would erupt the senses with its chaos, rhythm, and ferocity. A retreat from the unpredictable sea was only a few paces inland, where the trunks of the forest gently enveloped the body. To learn from these juxtaposed surroundings offered a wealth of life, wisdom, and calm. The landscape reflected the inner self.

Years were changing it, though. The occupation the Kaldorei had in the region was waning; the destruction of Auberdine and the lives taken with it, and the foul presence of those who would do the land harm consistently pulled at the heart of Darkshore. Aellea could feel the rocky coastline's anger, the woodland's resistance to the dark members of Twilight's Hammer. The soil mourned the loss of many Druids, Sentinels, and Priestesses.

These issues, however, couldn't be dwelled upon too deeply. For Aellea, there was work to do, lessons to be taught, poems to write, and a voyage to Stormwind to prepare for. She briefly fondled the coral seashell ring on her right hand.


	2. Chapter 2

**One**

The first wave of assistance came in from Teldrassil immediately, Aellea was told. Within two weeks, the fires were under control, a headcount and missing count verified, and shelters erected. Aellea arrived three weeks after it had happened, and bodies were still being pulled from the sea and the sand. Her home, with Auberdine, had utterly vanished.

Aellea, along with a few other returned druids, was quickly put to work by the priestesses. Aellea stayed with those who were suffering the most from emotional loss, while others tended to physical injury. She comforted the survivors with her words and with flowers. She placed lavender and white crystals on their bodies as they meditated. The crystals captured and stored the pain of each and every heartbroken kaldorei that sought her assistance. It lifted the burden on their hearts for a time, until the stew of grief refilled itself. Every day, when the sun rose Aellea took the crystals, now bursting with sorrow, to a spring in the mountainside to cleanse them. It was this quiet time when she wept.

Aellea had been traveling for over a year. Now, back in Darkshore just a month after its mutilation, the person she lamented leaving behind was missing.

His body had yet to be found; Theylem was one of seventy six missing kaldorei. His face had been haunting her for months. Now, knowing he was likely dead, it was terrorizing her. She sat at the little mountainside spring, the sunrise warming her back, and hugged herself. A moth fluttered from a tree to retreat deeper into the woods. She watched, and thought of her last words to Theylem, her inaction. "You have taught me well, but it is time for me to be my own teacher." She had snapped at him. "I am done seeking your permission, Theylem. I never needed it in the first place. You are lucky I seek your blessing."

He had paused for a long while. "I will go with you," Theylem said weakly. It was almost inaudible. He had been frustrated with her, it was clear. It was their last conversation, and he had let himself be defeated in the argument.

She didn't even consider him accompanying her. "I'm doing this for me, Theylem. I need this. I can't be guided by you on every step of my path. Aessina needs me."

Suddenly, before she had finished her sentence, Theylem turned around and grabbed her shoulders. He gripped them hard. He brought her face just inches from his, frustration and desperation written in his tightened jaw. He held her there, making no sound. She was looking away from him, but she felt his hot gaze. She still felt it now. Unsure of whether to feel frightened or angry, she had done nothing. A whole minute passed in that position, until he released the pressure from her shoulders and let his hands fall down her arms. He intertwined his long fingers into hers.

He brought his lips to her forehead. Her eyes began to burn in confusion and anger. "Elune light your path," he whispered against her skin, his voice cracking. Then Theylem left, slamming the study door behind him.

Aellea reached up a hand and softly touched her forehead where his mouth had been. A year later, she could still feel his voice on her skin.

The crystals begin to shine a little brighter, and Aellea was satisfied that they were cleaned. She scooped each one up individually to give a brief inspection. They felt heavier than usual, as if they had no peace left to give. "I can't let you drink the sea," she whispered to them when they were all in her bag. "It's unclean – make do with the spring for just a little longer." She tied up the pouch and gave a silent prayer to Elune, desperately asking that the bodies would be recovered and the ocean made pure again.


End file.
